DALTON, Mass. (AP) — A Dalton man is mourning the death of his soldier son who was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.
Officials at Fort Bliss, Texas, said 24-year-old Army Spc. Mitchell Kirk Daehling is among three soldiers killed in the Tuesday attack.
Kirk Daehling said Friday he remembers his son as someone who "just loved life … He always had a smile … He was proud to serve his country." Daehling spoke to The Associated Press shortly after returning from Dover Air Force Base, Del., where he received his son's remains.
Mitchell Daehling was a 2006 graduate of Wahconah Regional High School. He also attended Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H.
He is survived by his wife, Samantha — whom he married last June — and two siblings.
Funeral arrangements are pending.